If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

"You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do."

Lets start with what Flores has been doing recently. He’s hitting .307/.386/.465 with seven doubles, three homers, 11 walks and only 15 strikeouts in 27 games for the Bravos de Margarita in the Venezuelan Winter League. The 21-year old has played 21 games at third base and one at second, and for what it’s worth (not much) committed six errors. The VWL has averaged a .271/.346/.395 line. Flores is walking at a 9.5% rate, higher than in any of his domestic seasons while fanning in just 13% of his plate appearances. Dude can really hit.

Ben’s question first. Putting Flores in leftfield is a bad, bad idea. He’s just not fast enough to ever have better than well below average range in the outfield. No, he can’t learn to get faster. He’ll catch the balls that he can reach, but he will not reach enough in the outfield to be anything other than poor.

Flores at second is more appealing than in leftfield, but I still think that it would be a stretch. He is, and will always be, a second baseman with below average range. Again, he’ll field the grounders he can reach, but he will not reach enough of them. He has good hands and a plus arm, but his feet are slow, too slow for short, and too slow to play an average second base.

Reviews of his work at third, in his first year playing the position, went from poor in the early part of the season to questionable and tolerable in the warmer months. Scouts seemed to think that if he hit enough, a manger or team would be willing to put up with defense at the hot corner.

As far as Flores versus Murphy defensively, I don’t think there’s any guarantee that the youngster will be better. There’s a small split in the defensive metric with respect to Murphy’s 2012 season: Total Zone Rating has him one run below average, BIS Defensive Runs Saved has him +1 and UZR has him nine runs below average. I really think Murphy is quicker than Flores. The Irish Hammer stole 14 bases in his last full minor league season in 2008 in 99 games. Flores has 14 stolen bases in 589 minor league games through his age 20/21 season. The nicest thing I heard about Flores’ work at second in 2012 was that he was still “learning” the postion.

Despite public assurances by its owner that the team is not on the move, several baseball sources say the Eastern League's Binghamton Mets are the team that has been targeted for a renovated ballpark in Ottawa.

Binghamton hopes to keep minor league baseball in town, however, with a short-season New York-Penn League franchise. Sources said city officials have already inquired about purchasing the Batavia Muckdogs.

Several sources confirmed that Binghamton would indeed be the team on the move to Ottawa, a scenario first reported by the Ottawa Citizen early in the year and denied passionately and repeatedly by Binghamton owner Michael Urda to local media.

A source familiar with the negotiations also confirmed the Citizen's report that Nolan Ryan-owned Ryan-Sanders Baseball is the ownership group that plans to purchase the B-Mets. Ryan-Sanders CEO Reid Ryan declined to comment. Urda did not return a pair of interview requests from Baseball America.

The city of Ottawa announced in early September that it had reached an agreement in principle with the Eastern League to bring one of its franchises to town for the 2014 season.

League president Joe McEacharn said several hurdles still need to be cleared before a deal is finalized, including a satisfactory plan to renovate 19-year-old Ottawa Stadium and a lease agreement that would not put an excessive financial burden on the club. McEacharn, who has declined to identify which team is considering the move since Ottawa began seeking a team more than a year ago, said negotiations will continue at the Winter Meetings in Nashville and that time is running out to get a deal done in time for the start of the 2014 season.

"We continue to hope that this can be resolved with some certainty by year's end, because we will be running out of time for 2014," McEacharn said. "We are getting closer and closer to that area where we need certainty and a finished, finalized agreement."

Binghamton's interest in a New York-Penn League team would be contingent upon the EL deal being completed.

But sources said Binghamton officials have contacted Rochester Red Wings CEO Naomi Silver—whose International League franchise has operated Batavia since rescuing its neighbor from bankruptcy four years ago—about purchasing the Muckdogs. Silver described the conversation with Binghamton as "preliminary, basic discussions as to whether it is something the Batavia ballclub would consider."

"We have had some communication, but it has been a while," Silver said. "I honestly don't know what the status is. I'm curious myself to know if anything is happening. We're proceeding as if we will have baseball in Batavia next year, and I think we would."

The Muckdogs are for sale and Silver said other groups have inquired about purchasing the team, but that Binghamton is its most promising possibility.

"It is something we would be willing to entertain if a serious offer had come our way," Silver said. "Binghamton is somewhat unique currently because it appears that there is a viable city, a viable stadium. The circumstances would seem to be right for a move like this to be made, whereas a number of other people I have spoken to have had interest in the ballclub but it was not obvious where they would move the ballclub to if they were to purchase it. Binghamton would be in a better position than some of the others who would own a ballclub."

Inevitable Move?

While Urda has steadfastly denied that Binghamton may be on the move, he also left the door to open to the possibility of a New York-Penn League franchise coming to town. In early November, Urda told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin that B-Mets ownership has not had any discussions with potential ownership groups about buying the team—including the Boston-based Beacon Sports Capital group that is negotiating the sale.

In the same interview, however, Urda would neither guarantee that Binghamton would remain a Double-A franchise—"Anything is possible. We could put a major league team here as well"—nor deny interest in bringing a New York-Penn League franchise to Binghamton—"I don't know. It would depend on what the situation would be at that point in time."

Urda previously dismissed rumors of his team leaving for Ottawa by noting that the franchise is run by local ownership concerned with keeping baseball in town. The B-Mets recently extended the lease on NYSEG Stadium.

He passionately refuted these rumors in February, telling the Press & Bulletin, "The Binghamton Mets have not been sold, and we have not been contacted by anyone interested in our club. There's 12 teams in the Eastern League and we have to address it every single week . . . Enough's enough."

The Binghamton market may now be better suited for a short-season team than a Double-A one. The B-Mets have long brought up the rear in Eastern League attendance and have been on a steady decline since drawing 259,183 fans in their 1992 debut season. Binghamton averaged 2,983 fans a game in 2012, a 5.81 percent dip from 2011.

Like many Rust Belt cities, Binghamton, which is in southern New York near the Pennsylvania border, has seen its population decline steadily over the last 50 years. According to census data, the city's population peaked at 80,000 in 1950 and had dwindled to 47,000 in 2010.

The B-Mets could follow the lead of Norwich, Conn., which struggled to support an EL franchise. That franchise moved to Richmond in 2009, and a New York-Penn League team moved from Oneonta, N.Y., to take its place, becoming the Connecticut Tigers.

Ottawa was home to an IL franchise from 1993-2007, and the Ottawa Lynx were one of the league's better draws in their early years, before ballpark issues and a conflict with the city over stadium parking led to sagging attendance. The franchise was sold and moved to Allentown, Pa., where it has thrived as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Beacon Sports CEO Richard Billings said he hopes the deal can be completed during the Winter Meetings and the sale of the team closed by the end of the year. "We're hoping to have something done fairly soon," he said. "We're going over the final bits and pieces."

Those bits and pieces include a renovation of Ottawa Stadium that would cost at least $10 million, Billings said.

The agreement announced by the city calls for the team's lease to begin on Jan. 1. McEacharn said construction would need to begin by the spring in order to be completed in time for the 2014 season. Noting the failures of the Lynx, McEacharn said, "We want to go to Ottawa and be successful. We don't want to go up there in a risky situation . . .

"We watched what happened there before, so there is a history. They came out like gangbusters, then fell off and then collapsed. We don't want to be an Eastern League team drawing 100,000. We need to create a new experience, a new standing in the community."

Our corporate accountant told me this last year, the dude is so connected with the local Binghamton behind the scenes action. I posted it twice after hearing the rumor. Sadly if it does come to pass, it hurts us two ways. One, no more local double A action for the Binghamton market. Two, unless someone builds a new park near NYC, we should all donate a parka to save the Nimmo fund.

I am embarrassed that the Mets are being booted to Las Vegas and then the double A club is being bought and moved to Canada. Is our minor league program that bad. Does the parent club plan on moving the NY Mets to Canada in the future to take advantage of the tax breaks on a major league club in Canada? I am besides myself on moving prospects this way. Florida Single A, Ottawa Double A, and finally Triple A Lost Wages! Whats next NY Mets move to North Korea?

Parts of the Mets attendence decline is probably the crappy teams they have fielded the past several years. No one cares in the FO on where the minor league teams end up at the close of the season. Some of us believe teach them to win at lower levels and they might not be so complacent when they lose at the major league level. Just a thought.

The one thing I blame the Mets is for getting the boot out of Norfolk, the ****** product they put there for years was the main reason why they got kicked out. Then after that they went to New Orleans and that was not the right place. Then they got Buffalo which on paper sounds great, but as it turned out that town is an American League town and the Mets also did a poor job of putting a good team there and lost out, but I think that was a lost place regardless.

The situation in Binghamton sounds like has nothing to do with the teams they put there, but other reasons.

The New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly completed their trade negotiations. As expected, the Mets are sending knuckleballing right-hander R.A Dickey north of the border, accompanied by catcher Josh Thole. In exchange, the Mets are receiving top catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud, top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, and veteran catcher John Buck.

The trade was completed on Monday. The Mets also sent veteran reserve catcher Mike Nickeas to Toronto, while the Blue Jays sent young outfielder Wuilmer Becerra to New York.

Here's the scoop on the prospects involved.

Travis D'Arnaud, C: This is the second blockbuster trade of D'Arnaud's career. Originally drafted by the Phillies in the supplemental first round in 2007 from high school in Lakewood, California, D'Arnaud came to Toronto in the 2009 Roy Halladay deal. After a mediocre '10 season, he exploded with a .311/.371/.542 line in Double-A in 2011, then followed up with a .333/.380/.595 mark in Triple-A in 2012.

D'Arnaud is a right-handed hitter, listed at 6-2, 195, bon February 10, 1989. Scouts like his power and anticipate he'll be a significant threat with the bat, plausibly being a 20-homer a year guy. He's hit for average over the last two seasons, although his home parks have been friendly for offense and he's probably not a .300 hitter in the majors. His plate discipline isn't the best and he doesn't draw many walks, but he keeps his strikeout rates under control. His defense is well-regarded, with his mobility, arm strength, and leadership skills all ranked as solid or better.

Although he's not perfect, D'Arnaud has a good balance of offensive and defensive skills. He is either the best or second-best catching prospect in baseball, with Mike Zunino of the Seattle Mariners being his only serious competitor.

Noah Syndergaard, RHP: Syndergaard was drafted by the Blue Jays in the supplemental first round in 2010, from high school in Mansfield, Texas. He established himself as one of the top right-handed pitching prospects in the game this year, posting a 2.60 ERA with a 122/31 K/BB in 104 innings for Lansing in the Low-A Midwest League, allowing just 81 hits.

A 6-5, 200 pound right-hander, Syndergaard was born August 29, 1992. With ideal pitcher size and clean mechanics, he generates 92-97 MPH velocity with his fastball. He also has a very good changeup, and made significant strides refining his curveball this year. Although the breaking ball needs a bit more work, ultimately he should have three plus major league pitches. He has a good feel for pitching and is more refined than the typical power pitcher in his age cohort. He projects as a number two starter if all goes according to plan.

Wuilmer Becerra, OF:The Blue Jays spent $1,300,000 to sign Wuilmer Becerra out of Venezuela in 2011. They brought him directly to North America in 2012, skipping the Latin American summer leagues. Unfortunately, he got into just 11 games in the Gulf Coast League, his season ending early after being hit in the face by a pitch.

Becerra is tall and lanky at 6-4, 190, but runs very well and could be a 20+ steal guy at higher levels if all goes well. He also has above-average power potential, and flashes good plate discipline. However, his swing mechanics are inconsistent and he may be more ripper than hitter. His arm isn't very good, so he profiles best at left field. At Becerra's age, anything can happen. Keep in mind that he wouldn't even be drafted until 2013 if he'd been born in the United States.He was born October 1st, 1994.

With this trade plus the big deal with the Marlins earlier this fall, the Blue Jays are going all-in for a pennant run in 2013 and have traded off most of their top farm assets to do so. The Mets, meanwhile, have cashed in the ultimate reclamation project in Dickey, receiving two elite prospects in return.

The “non-elite” Prospect Wuilmer Becerra Is VERY Interesting

The “non-elite” Prospect Wuilmer Becerra Is VERY Interesting

The final pieces of the R.A. Dickey/Josh Thole/non-elite prospect for Travis d’Arnaud/Noah Syndergaard/John Buck/non-elite prospect deal were just announced. The Mets will send C Mike Nickeas, a career .180/.241/.238 hitter in 191 PA and the owner of a -0.9 bWAR to Toronto.

The non-elite prospect coming back to the Mets is Wuilmer Becerra. Becerra, a right-handed hitting outfielder, is listed at 6’4″, 190 and signed with the Blue Jays for $1.3 million last July. Writing for Baseball America at the time of his signing, Ben Badler praised his “plus-plus speed” and continued: “For some scouts, Becerra was one of the better righthanded hitters on the international market last year, though there was some disagreement about scouts on his bat. Becerra has a good combination of size, strength and raw power, and some scouts felt he had good plate coverage and feel for hitting. Others contend he’s not as sharp in game situations as he is in BP because he tends to get around the ball with length to his stroke and an uppercut swing, which isn’t uncommon for Latin American amateurs.”

In 11 games for the GCL Blue Jays, Bucerra hit .250/.359/.375 with four doubles, four walks and seven strikeouts while playing both corner outfield spots.

His season ended early, when according to Baseball America’s Nathan Rode, he was “Hit in the face with FB. Broken jaw. Wired shut. Was easing back into baseball activities at instructs.”

Jays Journal had Becerra ranked as the Jays’ #30 prospect this off-season and described the ball off the face scene as “very scary.”

Obviously, Becerra’s years away – the Mets will likely have him play in either the GCL or the Appalachian League, but he’s a very interesting lottery ticket in to add to the more well known d’Arnaud and Syndergaard at the top.